WolverineinDallas

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Chris Evans looks less explosive and less dynamic this year. Anyone else feel this way? Good thing Isaac has taken a step forward. Perry has also progressed this year; he looks faster and more athletic overall.

This was an extremely ugly game. It was not very enjoyable to watch. Hopefully this performance will motivate the team to make adjustments and improve as they move forward.

After two games, it seems like Speight has regressed. He definitely played better last year. I don't remember him missing this many short and intermediate throws. Maybe he focused too much attention on the deep ball over the offseason and ended up ignoring other aspects of his game. I don't know....

Yeah, I agree that it won't be as bad as Brian is predicting. It should be encouraging to fans to hear that Ulizio ascended past Runyan and JBB. You may argue that surging past those two guys isn't accomplishing much, but it is still a positive development. At the very least, he will be better than Runyan and JBB.

The 2018 offensive line may still not be as great as some fans are hoping. The interior should be really good or even great, but both tackle spots could be just average.

At LT, we might be looking at a competition between Newsome, Honigford, and Stueber. Newsome is a total mystery at this point and the other two will be redshirt freshmen. At RT, we may be looking at a competition between Ulizio, JBB, and Hall (it sounds like Filiaga might be a guard, and I think Runyan will probably move back inside to back up Ruiz at center). Overall, I think we will probably be somewhere around average at both of these spots.

In 2018, the thing that we have going for us is better depth and better competition. Also, though OT might be our weakest position on the team next year (partly because we will be stacked everywhere else), at least we will have Frey coaching that position.

The Florida game is the biggest game of the year. If we win that game, we'll go 10-2, and I will be very happy with that. It would represent three straight 10 win seasons heading into a legit national championship run in 2018. If we lose to Florida, we will go 9-3 or even 8-4. I think we will beat Florida, but it will probably be a close game.

The key to this season is staying healthy at a few key positions: OT, CB, S. David Long and L. Hill need to stay on the field throughout the year; I don't trust Watson all that much, and the others are way too green at this point. Losing Washington was a big shot to depth. The same thing can be said for our starting safety's, as well as Mason Cole and whoever is starting at right tackle. These guys need to stay healthy.

I am looking for Ty Isaac to have a breakout year; he has that size-speed combo that we are lacking right now. I am not as high on Higdon as some others on this board due to his size deficiency; he's just a really tiny dude and doesn't break enough tackles. He can hit the home run if you give him a crease, but I don't see him as an every down back. I am looking forward to see if Evans can take the next step. I think he's a special talent.

I think the run game will take a step forward this year and be more effective than in years past. Hopefully we will finally be able to run decently against good teams. On the other hand, our pass protection could take a step back this year. I would take that trade off though, and hopefully Pep's quick passing game can mitigate some of the pass protection issues.

There has been some positive chatter on Dwumfour (I think from the Christmas camp). If we move Gary inside, then we would have four bodies on the interior next year. In 2018, the year that most of us are putting our hope in, Hurst will be gone and possibly Hudson and Irving-Bey could take his place. Paea (spelling?) is also an option, but I've heard he is a much better guard prospect.

Either way, depth is definitely an issue for next year and talent could be an issue in 2018--though there is no way of knowing right now.

If we miss on Filiaga, then this class will be a bit of a disappointment. Don't get me wrong, this class has a lot of talent (I think we have more four star recruits that any other team right now). If we don't land an elite OT, DT, or NT, however, it is hard to consider this class a great one. Great classes fill significant holes and needs on a team's roster.

Am I the only one who is extremely annoyed by the fact that Georgia has a 5 loss season and is rewarded with a top 3 class? I don't know what is going on down there. Whenever Michigan has a bad season, our recruiting class takes a hit. Georgia has a bad season and ends up with one of the best classes in the nation. I know the state of Georgia is loaded with talent, but still; I just don't get it.

I don't want to start a new thread, so I'll just say this hear. Solomon just received 3 CB's to Bama on 247, which indicates to me that the Bama insiders know something. Also, Steve Wiftlong, who is usually right, apparently recently stated that he believes Oklahoma leads for Filiaga at the moment.

That would be two huge misses at our two biggest positions of need, which obviously would really hurt. I'm not really sure if Tufele is a realistic option right now either; it seems like most people think we are running third for him.

Dillon also has the best offer sheet by far out of all 3 commits. So it's not just your eyes. Kurt Taylor actually has better offers than Samuel (according to the lists displayed on 247), both in terms of quality and quantity, which is interesting.

Slaton could be a possibility at NT. Might be a long shot at this point, but we really need bodies on the Dline. The interior defensive line is the biggest remaining need in this class (I think we will finish very well on the Oline, so I'm not concerned with that position group anymore).

Unless we move Gary inside, right now we have 3 total players on the depth chart on the interior of the defensive line, and one of them is completely unproven. It would obviously be really nice to land an elite talent who can contribute right away.

Yeah, I'm not really sure who deserves the first team all-American accolade the most. I'm not certain how their stats compare, but I watched a few PSU and Wisconsin games this year and both teams have starting tight ends who I feel were at least comparable to Jake Butt this year.

This might not be a popular opinion, but Butt did not have an elite season this year. Even Brian alluded to this on the front page the other day. He struggled with drops this year, especially in critical situations. He also is not great in the run game, but that has been an issue throughout his time at UM. I'm not saying he wasn't good; he just wasn't really dominate in any game this year.

I think this will be a very good class. It could have been a great class had Hamilton and Elliott not decommitted, but I am still happy with how it turned out.

Coming into this cycle, I thought cornerback and linebacker were the biggest position needs. I am very happy with the way both groups materialized. We obviously got two elite corners, but I am also very excited about the linebackers (a lot of high upside guys with really good athleticism and speed). Most of the linebackers are also from the deep south and boast really impressive offer sheets.

Next year OT, DT, and safety seem to be the biggest needs. I am hoping that Harbaugh is able to be proactive in mitigating some of the negative recruiting in next year's cycle. Hopefully he learns from some of his mistakes and makes a few adjustments to his recruiting tactics as well.

It sounds like it might be Lavert Hill flipping from his Penn State verbal. There is a lot of smoke on 247 about it. I know there are a lot of mixed feelings about Gregg Henson on this board, but he recently posted on his blog that Hill was flipping to UM as well. We'll see.

I'm not sure how one can be a genuine fan of a team without getting emotionally involved in some way. If there is such a thing as emotionally-detached fandom, I don't really want anything to do with it. Sports are emotional. Athletes play with emotion and fans reciprocate that emotion. Also, following a team involves a sense of vicariousness, which I think is pretty natural. Fans identify with the teams that they follow. When our teams lose, we get upset or sad or whatever. I also think that the "bragging rights" thing that you mentioned is a part of being a sports fan as well. I couldn't really imagine sports without opposing fan bases. rivalries between fan bases is one of the things that makes following sports really fun.

Of course, you can have all of these things and still be "classy" at the same time. Based on my experience, Michigan fans do tend to be a little classier than opposing fans. They also tend to be more articulate, which I appreciate. At the end of the day, fans are human, and they will act like it from time to time.